Paper and ribbon feeding mechanism for manifolding machines



R. W. RITZERT Dec. 21, 1948. 2,456,734

' PAPER AND RIBBON FEEDING MECHANISM FOR MANIFOLDNGrA MACHINES Original Filed April 28, 1945 INVENToR. ROBERT w. anzi-:52T

jatented Dec. 21 1948 .Robert W. .Ritzert, New York, N. Y., yassignor yto The 'Egry Register Company, Dayton, Ohio, a

corporation o'f Ohio @riginal application April 2S, 1.943, Serial No. 484,810. Divided and thisl application June v6, 1945, Serial No. .597,840

'tomber 17, 1946.

In a typical prior art machine which the 'present machine represents an improvement thereover, the manifolding attachment is co-nstituted of a framework carrying rollers over which the required number of paper sheets are fed yup- Warclly from the typing or printing platen of the main machine and the nished copies are rreceived in their basket or carrier at the rear of 'the machine.

The multiple typing or printing is provided by a plurality of carbon ribbons or -Webs which are interleaved transversely of and between v*the paper sheets at the position of the platen. These ribbons are caused to move across the paper, i. e. normal to the movement-of the paper, during the line spacing interval by means of a pin wheel drive. Thus the carbon ribbonsy are moved from one side of the paper to the other side in steps corresponding to the line spacing operations of the main typing machine, the separate movements of the ribbons ranging between-onequarter and one-half inch.

When the last line has been typed or printed on the paper, an automatic ejection mechanism is brought into play to move the superposed sheets or webs of paper rapidly upwardly `over a considerable distance such that the succeeding sheets of the superposed paper lengths are placed in position for the next typing or printing operation. During this ejection lspacing vfeeding voperation of the paper webs, the pin wheel which feeds the carbon ribbons across the paper is moved to make certain that the carbon ribbons are free from the typed or printed sheets. It will be understood that the pin Wheel does not rotate during,r the typing or printing operation because obviously the carbon ribbons must be maintained stationary at this time.'

Thepin wheel is 'therefore called upon t'ohave a'nuinber of different rotary operationsextending over 'different periods of vtime and these 'rotary movements maybe separated by periods of time 'during which the pin wheel remains stationary. In'th'e case of a'motor-driven'm'achine, the motor rotates"continuously so that la suitable form of Vclutch must 'be "inserted between 'the motor drive and 'the intermittently movable vpin wheel. The vcontrol element vfor this ciutch is normally of a very complicated type lsincet'he clutch must operate entirely automatically and over diierent time intervals during the line spacing and eject rmenatio'ns of the machine and 'must be kept open during the :typing 'of lthe successive lines of print.

'to eliminate this complicated clutch and its vcontrol el'ement. As 'asubstitute therefor, a mechanlsm is lprovided of A`the/electric'al'type which will perform AVall of the functions of the intermittent drives `heretofore performed- 'by the clutch and 'yet will be 'ci a Amore'simple design `with consequently :less expense. Whereas in the earlier machines, the ribbon feeding pin Wheel and the paper moving mechanism were 4driven` :from a 'common *drive and therefore were mechanically interconnected, :it `:has 'been found 'desirable yto separate the lcommon drive into separate drive mechanisms so that they may -be individually 'adiosted` if `this separation rof drive were accomplished in a iu'll-y mechanical system, `the resulting complications of the mechanical parts including gears, clutches Jand other control elements would be sogreat asto render the machine impractical both-from the operative and'expense standpoints.

'The invention will ybe Vbetter :understood when reference is made to the following ldescription :considered sin connection with the accompanying drawing which is 1a 'perspective view of a conventionall typing. or adding,r and tabulating machine improved :in 'accordance with the 2invention. This view is Ytakenrom .the rearotthe .machine with :some fof the parts rremoved in order to show `the parts involvedlmore clearly.

General arrangement 'In general, the maniiolding machine 'of' this invention as vshown in the `ligure -ris an vattachment to be used in conjunction with a ribbon adapted to type or print a record, such as a tabulating and listing machine, typewriting machine r adding machine. The machine ordinarily is provided with typing mechanism, including type and a ribbon, together with means for printing a single copy of a record or multiple copies with the use of sheets of carbon paper interleaved between the multiple paper sheets or webs.

In the machine disclosed in this application the multiple copies of the record are made upon multiple paper webs interleaved with one-time copying ribbons between the multiple paper webs and traveling in a direction perpendicular to the direction of motion of the sheets or webs. In this manner, necessity for the use of carbon sheets is eliminated, together with the difficulties of realining the carbon sheets when occasion requires. The copying ribbons employed in the present invention are made of a cheap material and can be used one time and then discarded. A short strip of the copying ribbon which may consist of a carbon paper ribbon is equivalent to an entire sheet of the carbon paper hitherto employed.

In the manifolding machine of the present invention, the carbon paper ribbons are automatically fed by predetermined steps between the typing operations of successive lines of type, so that this motion of the ribbons breaks up the natural tendency to adhere to the paper forms with which they are interleaved. This ribbon feeding is synchronized with the line spacing mechanism of the main machine to which the manifolding machine is attached and is controlled in accordance with the motion of the line spacing parts of the main machine. Furthermore, certain of such main machines for which my invention is intended such as tabulating and listing machines are equipped with mechanisms for automatic ejection movement of the paper forms; that is, for moving the paper webs a multiplicity `of line spacings between successive forms in order to pass from the typing position, at the bottom of one form, to the typing position at the top of thev next form. These forms are provided with reversely arranged creases or folds in order more conveniently to be handled and they are presented to the main machine and the manifolding attachment in this manner.

These forms are caused to lie flatwise against a vertical framework of the machine during lthe typing or printing operation and when this operation is completed the forms are fed upwardly over the frame in such a way that they will return to their creased or folded condition and be received by a basket or trough.

It has been pointed out that the paper forms or webs are subjected to at least two upward movements of diierent character, namely:

(1) The movement represented Iby the line spacing action when the paper is moved a distance corresponding to the distance between typed lines and (2) The so-called eject movement in which the paper is moved a considerably greater disi tance represented by the distance between the last typed line of one form and the first typed line of the succeeding form.

These movements take place at different times because the line spacing movement is obviously eiected much more often than the eject movement. Likewise, the ribbon feeding mechanism is also subjected to various kinds of movements During the line spacing operation the ribbon is moved only over a short distance by the pin wheel whereas during the eject movement the ribbon is moved a considerable distance by rotating the pin wheel through many revolutions.

In view of the fact that all of these movements are derived from a single source of mechanical power such as an electric motor, it becomes necessary to provide clutches and control elements of a complicated character since these clutches must be operated automatically at predetermined time periods and also over predetermined time durations. The movements must be synchronized with one another in order for the entire machine, including the typing or printing mechanism and the manifolding attachment to operate efciently and without breaking the paper or the carbon ribbons. All of these requirements lead to a very complicated clutch arrangement with its attendant increase of the possibility of breakdown and also including considerable costs of maintenance and eX- pense.

In general, I propose to eliminate clutches and mechanical power transmission mechanisms, replacing them by electrical systems of a simplied arrangement and parts.

In the drawing reference character i designates the platen of the machine and the middle line of the platen would represent the normal typing or printing position at which the type arms contact with the paper. The lengths of paper being typed or printed are indicated at 2 and for simplicity only one thickness of paper has been illustrated although it will be understood that there is normally a plurality of paper sheets being fed simultaneously through the machine and interleaved with carbon paper ribbons indicated at 3. These ribbons, of which four have been illustrated assuming that nve sheets of paper are being typed or printed simultaneously are supplied from a spool compartment d of any suitable and well known type, the latter being secured to one of the side frames 5 of the machine. 'Ihe spools are separated from one another within the compartment 4 and the four strands of ribbon are carried over suitably positioned and individual guide rolls 6 mounted on spindles which project inwardly from the side plate. In order to change the direction of the ribbons from the vertical to the horizontal so as y to cause the ribbon to extend along the length of the platen a so-called turn plate is employed,

this plate being secured to the right hand side late 5. The turn plate may comprise an angularly shaped sheet of metal having a large flat plate and being provided lat the bottom with yvarious lengths of ribbon and therefore maintains the latter in a taut condition. This tautness is facilitated by applying a braking action on the spools contained in the compartment d. It will lloe understood that the ribbons 3 interleave the paper lengths 2 and when the machine is originally set up the ribbons are taken through the spaces formed between the sheets of paper as is well understood in the art.

'A typewriting machine of the character shown in often employed in connection with a manifolding operation in `whichthe paper sheets or Webs are presented .on ia :stack of :paper which .has-re- `verselyv positionedffolds .orzcreases Aipaper :stack `is indicated `at @lil yand the .stack iis carried in a basket l2 which may be .secured tothe frame of the 'machine -After passing under the :platen l the paper is guided :vertically upward .over the frame. This frame .may consist :of -a `number .of side strips secured .endwise together :and -*spaced apartby an'upper shaft I 5, an intermediatexshaft 4l and a lower shaft lil. .The uppermost shaft l5 is provided with a plurality .of .rollers I8 spaced at various distances apart to .accommodate any desired widthfof paper. The intermediate shaft i6 may serve as a mountingforthe ribbonispools while nthe roller shaft .l1 .is 4provided with a sprocket wheel t9. rihe intermediate ,shaft IB-is also provided'with a sprocket wheel 2|.

A chain 2G is carried by `.these-.sprocket wheels and is provided with outwardlyextending'projections 2in which'registerwith .spaced openings 54 inthe multiple paper webs. .Thefarrangementxis such that as the chain is imoved upwardly, 'the paper sheets 2 are causedtobe fed rin the vertical direction of the guide rollers .1.8. The shaft li'l is rotated in a manner which 4will tbe described .presently andthe manifoldedpaper is pulled from the stack ll, and after .passing around platen I is caused to move vertically upwardly over the rollers I8 by means of :the sprocket chain and the upper end of the paper may be received as a folded stack by a basket l(not shown).

rotary effort 'for the shaft lsl is obtained from amotor V2l. The latter may besecured to one of the side walls f5 of .the machine and shaft 3i? connects the motor to a 4clutchgenerallyJindi cated at 33. IThis clutch is a simple and conventional type, employing a grooved Acollar 34 which is keyed tothe -shaft 32 but is permitted to slide along the shaft. Thecollar is provided with teeth (not shown) at its yinner end and these teeth Vare adapted to engage the teeth 35 of the coupling 33 which is mounted on .a shaft 31 in alinement with the shaft 32. The shaftr31 may be journalled in bearings formed by .the brackets worm meshing with a Wormwheel which is securedto a shaft 4l journa11ed'at'42 inthe side weil.

For moving the collar 34 towardand away from .the clutch :portion .36 ya bifurcated vyoke 43 is em- 2 ployed, ythe upper legs of which engage .the circumferential groove inthe collar. This yoke is carried on an upright arm or :lever 44 which is pivoted on a shaft 45 intermediate the length of the lever. secured to the plunger or slidable armature 46 of .an electromagnet 4.1 which is also Asecured in any suitable manner to theside wall. vThe Ashaft45 is journalled ateach end in any suitable manner as indicated at 43 and the nearer .end of the shaft is provided with a cranki49. The free vend of the crank is pivotally secured to'anextensible arm `50 which passes through a stationary vguide bar 5I provided with a slot which receives the arm 5l).

Directly in line with the arm .-50 there is a ratchet wheel 52 mounted on the shaft 4I and any one tooth of which is adapted'to'be engaged by the upper end of the arm 150. The shaft 4| is extended across the rear :of fthe paper 2 and is provi-ded with one-:or more paper feeding sprockets .i9 carrying a sprocket -chain `20 which engages the sprocket wheel .2L As lthe one leg of the sprocket .chain :is caused to move `upwardly in this .mannenthe webs Ziare given arcor-responding `.upward Amovement, The fouter eend of :the

A worm 39 is secured tothe shaft .3.1, this Thel lower end of the lever Vis pivotally .downwardlytherefrom and this contactisadapt.-

Aed to engage the teeth 6.3 of a circularelement tizwhich is mounted on a rotatableshaft. In

.addition .to v.the ,teeth til the element '64 is pro- Vvided .preferably with a smooth cam :surface '6 for reasons which will be explained presently.

.Operation of the structure lAssume that the shaft (lower le'ft hand corner of the drawings) is connected to I`an-'e'le- `ment of the main typing or Aprinting machine which element is controlled in its `movement 'such as to provide the 'proper sequential 'movementso the'ribb'on'i'eeding andpaper feeding mechanism, duringthe line spacing and veject operations. 'A machine sold on the market under the 'name of IBM Kprovides such `an element and let us -as'- sume that when this element -is caused ,to'move during the operation of lthe IBM machine a rotary veffect of a predetermined amountand'at the proper time is suppliedto'the shaft E5. The teeth @.3 of the member 54 will successively engage-the reciprocable rod of the'switch 62-andwill cause the circuit 'di to be closed and `openedse- Yrentia'lly. If this circuit were Aconnected `to a battery (not shown) the current Aimpulses `would cause the successive energization and 'de-ieder#- gization of the electromagnet '41. vAssume for the moment that the electromagnet is energized during one of these impulses, the arm 4'4is `caused to swing about the shaft 45 and the clutch 33`be`- comes engaged. The motor 2l' is assum'edito."'b'e continually operating so that motion is'transe mitted to the worm 39 vand the shaft 4l isiaccorillingly rotated. Under these conditions the "paper 2 vwill be caused to move upwardly land the jpin wheel 53 will also rotate to move the ribbnn "3 a predetermined distance to the'right. This "is the effect which takes place during the .so-calledline spacing operation in which 'the `paper is moved upwardly a distance represented bythe distance between two successive lines of typed imprints andthe ribbon is moved a predetermined distance across 'the paper to present fresh carbon surfaces to the type arm preparatory for typing the'next line. It is apparent that there are `as-niany'te'eth on 4the element t4 las `may be necessary .to'line space each form until finallythe last line'onthe Lform is completed.

It is then necessary to lcause the paper formtc be 'ejected in order to bring the nextformint'o position so that the first line on this form maylbe typed. By this time `the shaft twill have'been rotated to a'position such that thecam-surface'i will rbe vdirectly under the lmovable fcontactfmernber of the limit switch and will 'hold thecirCu'it l closed overa relatively long 'period ottime. Under these conditions the clutch 33 will befangaged for a ycorresponding Ilonger periodlof time causing the sprocket chains to move thepaper upwardly through the predeterminedidistance ref quired for the eject operation 4and at the' csame timelfcausing the pin wheel -58 tel ibe retatedifas :many times as is desired according to the operating schedule of a manifold typing or printing fmachine. It will be understood that the shaft 65 'is not operated continuously but only during those .periods of time when it is desired that the paper -2- be moved through a predetermined distance upwardly and the pin wheel shall be rotated a predetermined number of times.

'- In order-to prevent any over running of the sprocket chains 2i) and the pin wheel 58 due to their momentum at the end of their respective operations, the spring 5&3 serves immediately to disconnect the clutch 33 and the ratchet wheel 52 prevents any further forward movement of the shaft!!! since the arm 5G is moved by spring 59 into contact with the face of wheel 52 to prevent any further forward movement of the parts connected therewith.

From the foregoing it is evident that I have disclosed inexpensive yet eiiective apparatus for moving the paper webs upwardly the requisite dis- .tance during the eject operation and also for pull- .ingthe ribbon or ribbons along the platen the properA distance according to the type of operation. The control in all of these cases is constituted of a simple electrical switch cooperating with a star wheel or cam which is automatically actuated in accordance with the movements of the machine parts. The various elements which are employed for providing the paper and ribbon drives are standard parts, requiring no special machine work and these drives are of the most direct and effective character.

It will be understood that I desire to comprehend within my invention such modincations ,as come vwithin the scope of the claims.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I- claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

/1.In a typing machine having a platen, first means shiitable to move paper to be typed over and across said platen, second means operable to move a ribbon transversely across said paper and axially along said platen, control means connected .to eiTect movement of said rst and second means in unison, said control means including an electric motor and a disengageable clutch, an electro-magnet for controlling said clutch, and a switch for controlling said electro-magnet, said switch being operable in accordance with the desired line spacing and sweep feeding operations 'y 2. A manifold typing machine comprising typing apparatus including a platen, means for .moving paper in multiple sheet form over the platen during the line spacing and eject operations of the machine, a plurality of carbon ribbons interleaving with said paper sheets at the typing position, means for moving the ribbons crosswise of the sheets during said line spacing ,and eject operations, said means including an electric motor connected to a shaft having a clutch, said clutch being controlled by an electro-magnet, and means including a switch connected to said electro-magnet and also a timing ,mechanism for impulse-energizing the electromagnet in accordance with the desired line spacing and eject operations whereby the electromagnet is intermittently energized at predetermined intervals and causes the clutch to be engaged so that power can be transmitted from the motor to the paper and ribbon moving means.

3. A manifold typing machine comprising typing apparatus including a platen, means for moving` paper in multiple sheet form over the platen :during the line, spacing and eject operations of the machine, a plurality of carbon ribbons inter'- leaving with said paper sheets at the typing position, means for moving the ribbons crosswise of the sheets during said line spacing and eject operations, said means including an electric motor connected to a shaft having a clutch, said clutch being controlled by an electro-magnet, means including a switch connected to said electro-magnet and also a timing mechanism for impulseenergizing the electro-magnet in accordance with the desired line spacing and eject operations whereby, the electro-magnet is intermittently energized at predetermined intervals and causes the clutch to be engaged so that power can 'be transmitted from the motor to the paper and ribbon moving means, and means operable in response to the deenergization of said electromagnet for preventingoverrun of each of the paper moving and carbOn moving means.

4. A typing machine including a platen, means for moving paper over the platen, a typing device actuated in accordance with said paper moving means, ribbon moving apparatus, and means for actuating said ribbon moving apparatus and said paper moving means including a motor, a shaft connected to said motor and having a clutch, an electro-magnet for controlling said clutch, and a switch responsive to the operation of said device for controlling said electro-magnet.

5. A typing machine including a platen, means for moving paper over the platen, a carbon ribbon extending crosswise of the paper and lengthwise of the platen, means for moving said carbon ribbon over the paper, both of said paper moving means and ribbon moving means including a continuously operating motor in common, a clutch interposed between said motor and said paper moving and rib-bon moving means, and means for controlling said clutch, said last-mentioned means comprising an electro-magnet which is controlled through a switch which Operates at intervals, the contacts of which are closed in accordance with the desired line spacing and sweep feeding movements.

6. A typing machine including a platen, means for moving paper over the platen, a carbon ribbon extending crosswise of the paper and lengthwise of the platen, means for moving said carbon ribbon over the'paper, both of said paper moving means and ribbon moving means including a continuously operating motor in common, a clutch'interposed between said motor and said paper Ymoving and ribbon moving means, means for controlling said clutch comprising an electromagnet and a controlling switch for said electromagnet, which operates atintervals, the contacts of said switch being closed in accordance with the desired line spacing and sweep feeding movements, and means controlled by the deenergization of said electro-magnet for preventing the paper moving means and the ribbon moving means from overrunning.

7. A typing machine including a platen, means for intermittently sliding paper over the platen, a carbon'ribbon extending crosswise of the paper and lengthwise of the platen, means for -moving said carbon ribbon transversely of the paper, both of said paper moving means and ribbon moving means including an electric motor in common, means including a clutch and shafting for mechanically connecting the motor to each of the `paper moving and ribbon moving mechanisms, electrical `means. including an electromagnet and a spring-tensioned plunger for engaging vfand vdisengaging .said clutch in accord- 9 ance with the desired line spacing and sweep feeding operations of the machine, and a ratchet Wheel on said shafting with an arm in contact therewith and controllable by said plunger for preventing overrunnng of the paper over the platen and of the ribbon across the paper when said motor is disengaged through said clutch from the shafting.

ROBERT W. RITZERT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Pfannenstiehl Dec. 13, 1921 Maul Mar. 20, 1934 Scharr Nov. 29, 1938 Schan- Sept. 3, 1940 Cooke Feb. 24, 1942 Pfeiffer Oct. 13, 1942 

